The Caparison Dellinger Bass has been around for some time, and here we have a prototype built for Mike LePond of Symphony X during 2009. Caparison guitars and basses have been built in Japan since 1995. The company was founded by the Charvel / Jackson Japan design group, and production was contracted to high end builders. In 2011, the company was bankrupt for a few months and re-opened under new ownership based in Cardiff, Wales.
Ash
Here we have a handsome, almost all original, Fender Precision Bass Maple neck built at the CBS/Fender Fullerton plant in 1975 – the pot codes date to 1974. First appearing in October 1951, the Fender Precision bass was a brilliant piece of industrial design. This innovation brought modern influences to the bass world – such as the ability to reliably and consistently produce a precise pitch, and to play at any volume without feedback. Quickly adopted, the Precision Bass was updated in 1954 to visually match the new Stratocaster, and has been in production with really only minor modifications since then. The P-Bass is arguably one of the most functionally successful bass instruments ever built, having appeared on more recordings and stages than any other bass.
Updating the classic P-Bass, the Fender Elite Precision Bass adds a bridge Jazz Bass Pickup, active and passive circuitry, a contoured heel and a HiMass bridge. Quickly adopted after its 1952 introduction, the Precision Bass has become the standard bass for performers in virtually all genres. It has proven itself to be extremely durable, reliable, and versatile and many other builders have based instruments on the P-Bass concepts.
Here’s a rarity from early CBS-owned Fender days – an original Fender Electric XII 12 string with the distinctive ‘bent’ or ‘hockey stick’ headstock! The Fender Electric XII uses the typical Fender approach to guitar construction. The body is Alder in a shape derived from Fender’s offset-waist guitars – the Jazzmaster and Jaguar. The split pickups feed through a rotary four-position switch, allowing a phase reversal in one of the combined positions. The rest of the controls are master volume and master tone.
The Fender American Professional Jazz bass is an update of the Fender Deluxe bass, originally released in 1960 and quickly renamed as the Jazz Bass. Fender believed the narrower neck and single coil pickups would appeal to jazz musicians. This bass became a legend as it caught on to more than just jazz players and it has been heard on countless classic recordings. The Fender American Professional Jazz bass retains much of the character of its ancestor while being updated with modern features to create an amazing contemporary bass.